31) A Strange Intruder
After two years in the infant school with Mrs. “Spratley” as head mistress Jonathan moved on to the junior school where Mr. Ellis was headmaster. The school offered quite a lot of extra curricular activities. Their afternoons where filled with sports and different sorts of clubs. I think Jonathan did soccer, cricket, tennis and swimming. He did pretty well at swimming but was unfortunate to be in the same age class as a boy who swam competitively and had represented the province. He was much taller than Jonathan too and had longer arms. We always said that even if they were coming neck and neck in a race the other lad only had to reach out his long arms to touch the wall before Jonathan. Still Jonathan usually came second to him and we were pleased with that.
One of the other activities Jonathan enjoyed was Stamp Club. Mr.Ellis ran it and taught the children quite a lot about stamp collecting. He told them about the huge amounts that were paid for stamps that were flawed. Jonathan had a stamp album and he took it with him to Stamp Club each week. One week he could not find it when he was getting ready to go to school. We looked everywhere but there was no sign of it. Jonathan thought that someone had come in the night and stolen it. I smiled at the thought of anyone breaking in and only stealing a child’s stamp collection. I told him I thought that if anyone had come in they would have taken something else as well, as the album was not worth a great deal of money. He loved his stamps though and was sure they were worth a lot of money. He said, “what if someone knew that there was a flaw amongst the stamps and that they knew that it was worth millions?” I asked who had seen the collection who knew a lot about stamps and would have recognised the flaw. He thought about this and the only person that he could think of who fitted the profile was Mr. Ellis. The more he thought about this the more he was convinced that it was Mr. Ellis who had broken into the house in the dead of night, found the album amongst the muddle of Jonathans cupboard (no mean feat in itself) and made off with it to sell for a fabulous amount that would allow him to retire and give up working at the school. The album could not be found before school and Jonathan went off sure that Mr. Ellis would not be at school that day. But Mr. Ellis was there and by the time Jonathan came home from school I had cleaned out the untidy cupboard and found the missing album. That album has long since gone but Mr. Ellis has stayed with us always and when ever something gets lost in out house Mr. Ellis is always blamed.
Talking about swimming reminds me of the time that the boys competed in a Scout and Cubs swimming competition between the troop they were in and another local troop. In the age level that Dominic was in, I think it was under six years or maybe under seven, I can’t remember which there were only two swimmers. When it came to the relays they had a problem but they solved it by getting the other lad to swim the first and third lap and Dominic to swim the second and fourth. If I remember rightly they even got a place. I think they would have done better if they had been good runners too.
Cricket was not one of Jonathan’s favourite sports and it made me realise just how little one can trust the teachers’ comments on an end of year report. As Jonathan was not fond of cricket he did not do well at it and was always sent to field at the very far end of the pitch. He told me that he would sit in the sun and more than once fell asleep there. On one of his reports his teacher wrote something to the effect “Jonathan is a keen participant at cricket, who contributes a great deal to the sport”. When ever I watch a cricket match now and hear the crowd shouting and singing or playing instruments I think again of watching the junior school play a house match once a week during the summer. I was on the tea committee and if we Mums talked a little loud during the game Mr. Ellis would give us a dirty look and say “Shhh”. If the old gentleman is still with us I am sure he must hate to hear all the racket at the games. (If he is dead he must be turning in his grave). Yes, in those days people watched cricket quietly, clapped gently when runs were scored and gave a little cheer when your side got one of the opposite sides bowlers out.
One of the other activities Jonathan enjoyed was Stamp Club. Mr.Ellis ran it and taught the children quite a lot about stamp collecting. He told them about the huge amounts that were paid for stamps that were flawed. Jonathan had a stamp album and he took it with him to Stamp Club each week. One week he could not find it when he was getting ready to go to school. We looked everywhere but there was no sign of it. Jonathan thought that someone had come in the night and stolen it. I smiled at the thought of anyone breaking in and only stealing a child’s stamp collection. I told him I thought that if anyone had come in they would have taken something else as well, as the album was not worth a great deal of money. He loved his stamps though and was sure they were worth a lot of money. He said, “what if someone knew that there was a flaw amongst the stamps and that they knew that it was worth millions?” I asked who had seen the collection who knew a lot about stamps and would have recognised the flaw. He thought about this and the only person that he could think of who fitted the profile was Mr. Ellis. The more he thought about this the more he was convinced that it was Mr. Ellis who had broken into the house in the dead of night, found the album amongst the muddle of Jonathans cupboard (no mean feat in itself) and made off with it to sell for a fabulous amount that would allow him to retire and give up working at the school. The album could not be found before school and Jonathan went off sure that Mr. Ellis would not be at school that day. But Mr. Ellis was there and by the time Jonathan came home from school I had cleaned out the untidy cupboard and found the missing album. That album has long since gone but Mr. Ellis has stayed with us always and when ever something gets lost in out house Mr. Ellis is always blamed.
Talking about swimming reminds me of the time that the boys competed in a Scout and Cubs swimming competition between the troop they were in and another local troop. In the age level that Dominic was in, I think it was under six years or maybe under seven, I can’t remember which there were only two swimmers. When it came to the relays they had a problem but they solved it by getting the other lad to swim the first and third lap and Dominic to swim the second and fourth. If I remember rightly they even got a place. I think they would have done better if they had been good runners too.
Cricket was not one of Jonathan’s favourite sports and it made me realise just how little one can trust the teachers’ comments on an end of year report. As Jonathan was not fond of cricket he did not do well at it and was always sent to field at the very far end of the pitch. He told me that he would sit in the sun and more than once fell asleep there. On one of his reports his teacher wrote something to the effect “Jonathan is a keen participant at cricket, who contributes a great deal to the sport”. When ever I watch a cricket match now and hear the crowd shouting and singing or playing instruments I think again of watching the junior school play a house match once a week during the summer. I was on the tea committee and if we Mums talked a little loud during the game Mr. Ellis would give us a dirty look and say “Shhh”. If the old gentleman is still with us I am sure he must hate to hear all the racket at the games. (If he is dead he must be turning in his grave). Yes, in those days people watched cricket quietly, clapped gently when runs were scored and gave a little cheer when your side got one of the opposite sides bowlers out.
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